Fired Hanover Walmart greeter pays it forward

Ken Emerick, 67, was a greeter at the South Hanover Walmart for nearly eight years. He was fired on Thursday following an incident on Tuesday evening. He was beloved and well-known among the Hanover community for his festive holiday costumes.
Dan Rainville, The Evening Sun

Ken Emerick, a former greeter at the South Hanover Walmart, presented Rebecca Plummer with a check for the Southwest Student Council Mini-THON on Feb. 15, 2017. Plummer started a petition and collected funds for Emerick after he was fired in January.(Photo: Submitted)

As a greeter at the South Hanover Walmart, Ken Emerick, 67, knew Rebecca Plummer's face but not her name.

Now, Emerick will never forget her.

Plummer, 17, collected $300 for Emerick after his controversial firing from the store, so he returned the favor by donating the money to a pediatric cancer cause she championed.

Following Emerick's termination at the Walmart in late January, Plummer took the reins in local activism. Emerick was fired two days after an incident in which, he said, he grabbed the scooter of a boy riding through the store.

"It means a lot," Emerick said. "Since the incident happened, it just warmed my heart there's kids like that out there."

Emerick wanted to pay her back by spending the funds in a way she would appreciate. He happened to see on Facebook she was asking for donations to the South Western Student Council Mini-THON for Four Diamonds to conquer childhood cancer.

"I thought what comes around, goes around," Emerick said.

Plummer was "shocked and heartfelt" when Emerick presented her with the check for $300.

"The expression on her face when I presented that check was more than I could imagine," Emerick said. "She won my heart."

The feeling is mutual.

"Honestly, he is just a really generous man," Plummer said. "And I love him too."